As a parent of young children, my life is now punctuated with fun milestone events throughout the year that bring my kids lots of unbridled joy. Holidays, summer time, and birthdays are awesome but almost nothing beats Halloween when I allow my kids to lose their minds and eat as much candy as they can. However, now that I am the parent of a child with a severe nut allergy, Halloween brings a lot less joy and a lot more fear because of all of the candy that could potentially harm my son. At almost four years old, it is hard for him to really comprehend why he can’t eat the candy that his sisters are allowed to have. He understands in concept that he is “allergic to peanuts” but that doesn’t translate to understanding why I have to take most candy away from him and his trick or treat bag. It stinks to see his little face fall when he resigns himself to not having the same things his friends and sisters are eating.

Last year was particularly stressful during trick or treating because it was the first time that he was walking around our neighborhood and not strapped in to the stroller. It was also the first time that I let him walk from the sidewalk to my neighbor’s front doors to ring their doorbells and get candy on his own. I am sure as parents of kids with nut allergies, you can understand my fear. There are a million kids running around, it’s starting to get dark and it is really hard to read the teeny, tiny candy labels to determine what is safe to eat (why is my phone flashlight STILL not bright enough?). Also, all of the kids I know are walking and eating one piece of candy for every two they get! While there were definitely a small handful of sensitive friends and neighbors out there who were ready with some sort of treat he could eat, the vast majority of houses just weren’t safe because let’s face it - unless you have a child with an anaphylactic nut allergy and carry an Epipen for them like it’s your job, cross contamination from nuts is just not on your radar screen. So, while his friends were stuffing their faces with all sorts of chocolate, I was frantically pulling out all of the unsafe candy from his bag (while trying not to lose him in the crowd and keeping an eye on my other kids too) and replacing it with boring lollipops. He was disappointed and I was frustrated and sad. There were tears. A few of them were mine. Something had to give.

That Halloween really pushed me to think about how I could make the world a slightly safer and better place for my son and other children in his situation. I discovered that another mother of a nut allergic child in my community felt the same way as me (don't we all?) and together we formed Bo & Ty Sweets, a nut-free candy company(all products are free from cross contamination with nuts and completely safe for nut allergy sufferers). Bo & Ty Sweets offers an assortment of chocolates, gummies and jelly beans in various sizes ranging from Mini jars (great for party favors) to Jumbo jars (keep them in your pantry and scoop out for occasional treats or use as party centerpieces).

Our newest product, the“Dabs,”are single serving candy bags which are perfect to keep with you while trick or treating.For every Snickers or Reeses Peanut Butter Cup that goes into your little one’s bag, you can now replace it with a Dab from Bo & Ty Sweets! Your nut allergic child will be thrilled to be eating the same types of candy as his or her friends and will feel#safenotsingledout. And you’ll be much more relaxed. Trust me!